The present invention generally relates to magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and more specifically, to a system and method which provide for RF pulse amplitude reduction in RF pulse design. By a variable-rate selective excitation (VERSE) technique in which the peak or high amplitude portions of an RF pulse and the corresponding gradient waveforms are adjusted, the overall RF transmit power can be reduced, and in turn the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the pulse can be reduced. However, traditional VERSE techniques may reduce the signal noise ratio (SNR) and/or contrast of an MR image due to the off-resonance effect. It may therefore be desirable to have a system and method to improve the SNR and contrast of an MR image while reducing overall RF transmit power.